ALL-STAR DUBLIN defender Eoin Murchan looks to have avoided serious injury following a horror collision whilst on club duty.
The 2019 All-Ireland final replay goal scorer for Dublin was removed from O’Toole Park by ambulance yesterday after Na Fianna’s county SFC draw with Lucan Sarsfields.
Murchan took a heavy hit late in the 1-20 to 4-11 Group 2 tie and was treated, and subsequently monitored, for around an hour in total before being taken away by ambulance to the Mater Hospital.
Na Fianna manager Tom Gray said the club’s physio was ‘very concerned’ at the time though it’s understood that Murchan wasn’t kept in hospital last night and should make a full recovery.
Gray described it as the best possible outcome in the circumstances with concern initially among supporters as Murchan lay on his back and was monitored for a lengthy period.
The incident forced a 20-minute delay to the start of the subsequent game between holders Kilmacud Crokes and Thomas Davis at the Crumlin venue.
“The situation was that Eoin suffered a very heavy blow with four or five minutes to go in the game,” said Na Fianna boss Gray.
“It was around the neck and the head area so obviously the physio was very concerned, but the news is that there were no bones broken and it seems that it was just a heavy knock thank God.
“I don’t think there was any lasting damage done so you’d call it the best possible outcome in the circumstances. I’d imagine he’ll probably see people in terms of check ups and what not this week but it looks to be the least worst outcome, if that makes sense. Obviously you never want to see any lad go through that but fingers crossed I think he’s okay.”
Na Fianna contested the 2022 Dublin SFC final but failed to advance from their group in 2023 as the club’s hurlers made their own county breakthrough with a first ever title.
Gray’s side will be favourites to advance beyond Clontarf, who were promoted from the Dublin SFC 2 ranks last season, in their upcoming quarter-final though it remains to be seen if Murchan is involved.
“I honestly don’t know,” said Gray, the former Dublin U-20 manager. “If he’s fit, he’ll play. If he’s not, he won’t. That’s the situation right now.”
Kilmacud Crokes manager Robbie Brennan said the delay to the start of Sunday’s game due to the Murchan incident had nothing to do with his team’s below par performance.
Dublin and Leinster champions Crokes avoided defeat, drawing with Thomas Davis, but it was the first time they have failed to win a group game in the Dublin SFC since the format was introduced in 2018.
“First of all, we were just hoping that Eoin Murchan was okay,” said Brennan. “So there was a little bit of concern there but in terms of ourselves, no, it wasn’t too bad on us in terms of any impact. The lads are well used to situations like that at this stage.”
Crokes, who still topped Group 4, will face Ballyboden St Endas in the pick of the Dublin SFC quarter-finals. That will be a repeat of last year’s final which Crokes won to complete a county three-in-a-row.
The 2023 All-Ireland club champions could be boosted by the return of Galway ace Shane Walsh who didn’t feature at all in the group stage.
Walsh was hampered by the ankle and hamstring injuries that affected his summer campaign with All-Ireland finalists Galway.
But Dublin defender Theo Clancy isn’t expected to be back.
Crokes chief Brennan, the current favourite to land the Meath manager’s job, said an improvement is required from his side.
The Stillorgan outfit trailed Thomas Davis by a point in the closing minutes before grabbing a draw and ultimately relinquished their perfect record in group stage games after 20 round robin wins in a row.
“It’s something we’re proud of and it’s probably something that we reference now because we’re so far into that journey,” said Brennan.
“We were trying to decide would we push it there at the end against Thomas Davis to try to win it or hold off and try to get the point. We knew the point was enough anyway.”
The full Dublin SFC quarter-final draw is: Kilmacud Crokes v Ballyboden St Endas, Na Fianna v Clontarf, Cuala v Castleknock and Ballymun Kickhams v St Vincents.
